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Chapter 676: Chapter 682: Contest
To put it simply, Li Zhirui was completely at a loss with the other party!
Fortunately, there were skilled individuals among them, and three Nascent Soul cultivators emerged from the shadows, capturing the myriad of mixed auras from that withered Spirit Plant and then casting a tracking spell.
The cultivators hiding in the shadows were more than just the three of them, and the rest did not show themselves.
Had it not been for the conspicuousness of casting the spell, they would not have wanted to reveal themselves, preferring to track individually to reduce competition—wasn’t that better?
Before and after the Luminous Green Fruit ripened, there were only a few people including Li Zhirui, so the auras weren’t too complex. With some discernment, they quickly locked onto the cultivator who had stolen the Spirit Fruit.
"Lead the way," Green Poison said, appearing beside a cultivator with a flash, speaking in an ominous tone.
Having witnessed Green Poison’s strength firsthand, how could that cultivator dare to resist? He could only obediently lead the way.
The remaining two cultivators were also unable to escape the fate of leading the way, even facing greater pressure as they were confronted by Li Zhirui and many other cultivators!
As they set off in pursuit, Li Zhirui deliberately lagged a step behind, collecting the seemingly withered Spirit Plant and all its roots underground into his space.
Meanwhile, Xiaoqing, who had been instructed early on, had already dug out a hole and prepared a gourd of Spirit Water and a large amount of Spirit Stones.
Li Zhirui did this in hopes of reviving the Spirit Plant!
He was not indulging in fantasy; he had sensed a hint of life within it and the idea emerged spontaneously.
If he succeeded, even if they hadn’t obtained this Luminous Green Fruit, they would be able to secure another Spirit Fruit in the future, resolving Da Qing’s bloodline issue.
Even if he failed, it would not matter much; it was merely a waste of some Spirit Stones and time.
After dealing with this, Li Zhirui hurried to catch up with the group. After all, whether the Spirit Plant could survive was still uncertain, and if possible, securing the current Luminous Green Fruit was the priority.
Bang!
Tens of miles away in a certain corner, a figure suddenly burst forth from underground.
"Hahaha, no matter how strong you all are, the Luminous Green Fruit has ultimately fallen into my hands," the cultivator chuckled softly, his face full of proud satisfaction.
To obtain the Spirit Fruit in the presence of five powerful cultivators, as well as many lurking Nascent Soul stages, and then to escape safely, indeed was something to be proud of.
But his momentary triumph made him lose the vigilance he should have maintained, and it brought him a great disaster!
He could have fled even further, yet he believed that tens of miles were already safe enough, and there was no need to continue using a large amount of mana to continue with the escape technique.
Therefore, his joy and excitement lasted only a quarter of an hour before coming to an abrupt end.
Green Poison had caught up with the cultivator!
And to prevent him from burrowing into the ground to escape again, Green Poison immediately released a cloud of poison, enveloping him.
"Impossible! How could you possibly catch up so quickly!" Feeling his mana rapidly depleting and his consciousness becoming increasingly blurred, the cultivator screamed hysterically.
With death closing in, his rationality returned, and he begged, "I will hand over the Luminous Green Fruit, please spare my life, fellow Daoist."
"You’ll be dead, and the fruit will still be mine!"
"But I can destroy it before I die!" With that, he took out the Jade Box containing the fruit and looked at Green Poison with a crazed expression.
"Are you threatening me?"
Green Poison, who was originally indifferent, suddenly became playful, "Do you know what I hate the most? It’s when others threaten me! For such people, I usually turn them into poison slaves."
"Do you know what a poison slave is? It’s someone who uses their body to refine the most pure poisons for me, and I have collected tens of thousands of toxins. I wonder how many you can endure."
"Ah! Since you won’t let me live, then no one shall have this fruit!" He would rather take his own life than become that poison slave.
Crack—
Just as he was about to destroy the Luminous Green Fruit, a beam of Spirit Light descended from the sky, transforming into a white streak that snatched the Jade Box from his hand, striking his chest in the process and sending him flying backward.
The cultivators who were slightly later than Green Poison arrived!
As for his earlier words, they were meant to divert the attention of the others, preventing the actual destruction of the fruit.
Now that the Spiritual Object was temporarily safe, but that also meant the intense struggle had just begun!
And because it was unexpectedly taken away, those cultivators who had been ousted early from the competition had once again joined in, which caused the number of competitors to multiply several-fold.
To secure the fruit, one needed not only exceptional strength but also luck!
However, this also had a huge advantage: the fruit was securely sealed, eliminating worries about it being exposed to the air and losing its medicinal potency.
"Hand over the Spirit Fruit!"
Now that the Jade Box was in the hands of a female cultivator, she naturally became the target of all the other cultivators.
Li Zhirui did not use all of his strength but simply entangled her, denying her the chance to escape. This conserved his strength while also preparing him for the upcoming battle.
Time marched inexorably forward, from moonlit night to early morning, yet still no victor had emerged.
However, there were not many cultivators left on the field who still had the strength to compete for the fruit!
Through a night of chaos, the vast majority of cultivators had been eliminated; some had died, some had fled with severe injuries, leaving only Li Zhirui, Green Poison, and the other four with Nascent Souls.
"Fellow Daoist, let’s join forces to secure the fruit first. Then we can discuss its division. What do you think?" Green Poison turned his gaze to Li Zhirui.
"Will the fruit be held by you or by me then?"
Li Zhirui smiled and declined. With such a Spiritual Object at stake, even close brothers of the same sect couldn’t necessarily be trusted, let alone two strangers?
Especially someone like Green Poison, who posed too great a threat; joining forces with him would be like seeking skin from a tiger.
"Then let’s rely on our own abilities!"
Before he had finished speaking, Green Poison flew toward the Jade Box that had fallen beside a corpse.
At the same time, a hideous green poison fog surged out, engulfing the surroundings and protecting him while also blocking the other five to some extent.
"Grow!"
Li Zhirui executed numerous spells repeatedly, instantly forming countless vines that shot up into the sky before converging in mid-air to form a wooden cage, inverting over the land and encompassing everything within a three-mile radius.
Around the poison fog, thin vines also grew, most of which immediately withered from the poison as soon as they appeared. Yet given their sheer numbers, some survived, doing their utmost to prevent Green Poison from getting the fruit.
The remaining Nascent Soul cultivators could no longer stand idly by, or else the fate of the Spirit Fruit would soon be decided.
Perhaps the pressure from both Li Zhirui and Green Poison was too great, for the four banded together, planning to take out the two of them first.
